Ichigo to Koneko, Strawberry and Kitten
by Faery of Night
Summary: Amu X Ikuto. Childhood friend type story. T because I had planned for more romance than there is but it didn't happen that way. Romance in later chapters!
1. Childhood friends

**Hey guys, I can't write my other stories because they're saved on a stupid computer that won't let me do anything before it crashes so bear with me. This is compensation. Please don't kill me, I never suspected this would happen, at least I'm writing a cute compensation story. (readers advance with various weapons of pain) NO PLEASE! I WILL FIX THE COMPUTER! ahem anyway Ikuto's only a year older than Amu in this, I'll be advancing Amu's age more later instead of lowering Ikuto's more. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara. Yes i'm finally doing a disclaimer. I'll have to go back and add them to everything.**

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"We need nick-names!" The young pink-haired girl said to the young blue-haired boy facing her. They were in a pillows-and-blankets-in-the-living-room fort which was currently going by the name of 'Club H.A.T.I.' after their initials.

"Why?" the slightly older boy asked inquisitively.

"'Cause, it'll be fun! Okay, we get to make up the names. Um, I'll call you….Koneko!" she replied with a smile.

"Why Koneko? That's really girly." He asked with obvious disdain.

"Becaaauuusse, you remind me of a Kitty! So you're Koneko-Chan!" She said with another happy smile. Then she looked at him, waiting for a response. (This is the only time I will use the non-Japanese version of kitten)

"Don't add –Chan! That's even more girly! Use –kun!" He said angrily, she nodded and he sighed then immediately continued, "Ichigo."

"Eh? Ichigo? Why?" she asked in a slightly whining tone.

"'Cause your pink hair reminds me of a strawberry. It looks good enough to eat, like strawberry ice cream! So you're Ichigo-chan!" The young boy replied with a smile, and then he reached over and smelled her hair. She blushed and he said, "You even smell like an Ichigo!" (Only few times I will use Strawberry as a word instead of Ichigo).

"Okay, we can only call each other by our nick-names now! Pinky-swear!" The girl said when her blush cleared. The two locked pinky fingers and shook. They smiled and played for the rest of the day.

**10 months later:**

"Don't go Koneko-kun!" The pink haired girl yelled at the boy, she had tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry Ichigo-chan, I have to! Mommy won't let me stay! She says that we have to move far away." The young boy replied, his voice wavering.

"I'll never see you again Koneko-kun! You can't leave, we've been friends forever!" the girl cried out, she dashed over and hugged him. He hugged her back, which surprised the little girl, he never hugged. Suddenly he kissed her cheek, she jumped back surprised and blushing.

"So you do taste like an Ichigo, Ichigo-chan!" He said to her surprised face.

"You pervert!" She screamed at him.

He laughed and replied, "That's what I want to see, the same old Ichigo-chan!"

"Let me get a picture of you!" The pink-haired girl's father cried out suddenly, clutching a camera. The two stood next to each other but didn't touch. At the last moment Ikuto grabbed her hand and her father took two pictures. One had him smirking and the other her blushing. He got the blushing one and she the smirking one. She was angry about that but she put on a smile as her best friend drove off. Ichigo never had another friend as close as him afterwards. Koneko became a bit of a recluse and made few friends at all.

**Years later:**

"Amu-chan! Look what I found!" her mother called out. They had just moved in and Amu was exhausted from her first day of her new middle school. She had totally blown it, but that was another story. Right now, she was unpacking the last of her belongings.

"Coming!" She shouted back as she excited her new room. She found her mother in the living room smiling and holding a picture. "What's that?" she questioned.

"A picture of you when you were little, it's with your friend." She replied, smiling at the picture.

"Wow my hair was longer and my eyes are different." Amu said with obvious curiosity. Her mother gave her a huge smile.

"When you were younger your eyes were green, I still don't know why you cut your hair." She replied.

"Who's that boy with me? Why is he holding my hand and smirking?" Amu asked noticing the boy with short blue hair that was a shade lighter than his eyes.

"You don't remember Amu-chan? He was your best friend! That was the day he moved away, Papa took a picture and he grabbed your hand at the last minute, you were so devastated when he left." Her mother said with her smile fading a bit.

"I think….I do remember him! I used to call him Koneko-kun didn't I?" Her mother nodded in reply and Amu went on, "He called me Ichigo-chan too."

"I'm so glad you remember him Amu-chan! Maybe you'll meet him here! We didn't know where he moved to." Her mother said excitedly.

Amu rolled her eyes and said, "I seriously doubt it. Can I have the picture though? It's kind of…cute." Her mother nodded and Amu took the picture and went up to her room. She sat on her bed and held the picture above her. "I remember I used to have a crush on him. I wish I _could _meet him again." She put the picture in the top drawer of her dresser.

Little did she know that in around six months she would meet him in a most unusual way. The birth of the first of her three guardian characters would cause her to run out of school and fall into a hole, right on top of him.

**Years later and approximately 3 months after previous events and somewhere else:**

Ikuto was bored, and was sitting in his room with a hyperactive Yoru. His eyes were closed and he was thinking of nothing important, mostly of how annoying Utau was. Suddenly Yoru was in front of him holding a picture too close to his face.

"Look what I found, nya!" He yelled shoving the picture closer.

Ikuto took the picture from him and held it out a reasonable length from his face. He studied it a moment and said, "I remember this, it was from before I moved here. That blushing girl, she called me Koneko-kun. That was before I got you Yoru."

"Why'd she call you that, nya?" Yoru asked.

"We gave each other nicknames; I called her Ichigo-chan." Ikuto replied with a small smile.

"Why would you call her that?" Yoru questioned now studying at the picture closely.

"Probably because of her pink hair and green eyes." Ikuto replied growing bored with the conversation.

"Are you sure that's you? The hair is really different, nya." Yoru said still looking at the picture.

"Of course it's me, I just kept my hair short and not as messy. Plus, it darkened as I got older. If you need any more proof, I'm making a girl blush. Now leave me alone." He said, turning over and closing his eyes. Yoru just shrugged and flew out the window to go play with some cats.

_It'd be nice to see that girl again, I remember we were so close, _Ikuto thought.

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**Yep that's it! Amu is an eighth grader and Ikuto's a freshman in high school. Her uniform is still the same. There are still guardians, Tadase (K) Rima (Q) Nagihiko (J) Yaya (A) Yaya is seventh grade Tadase, Rima, Nagihiko, and Amu are eighth. This is by American school system, I don't know enough about the Japanese school system to use it. Please review! **


	2. mini chap 1

**Ey this is a mini-chapter! I'll throw a few of these in randomly. They don't necessarily have to do with what is going on now. This one is about those first few moments in which Amu and Ikuto first see each other, when she falls on him. This only happens in the manga so you anime-only people might be a bit confused.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

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I was falling into a hole, after just wishing for one. Incredibly ironic, no? Although, that was when I first saw him, I had fallen into a hole on top of an older cute boy. Yes cute, that was my first impression. I'll tell you my first thoughts of him.

_I'm sitting on a boy, he's kind of cute. What am I thinking? But wow, look at his eyes, there such a deep blue color, it's amazing. His hair matches it perfectly. Those eyes remind me of Koneko-kun's. Except he never had such long, messy hair. His was lighter too, he could almost be him. Why ami I thinking so much about my childhood friend? What's he doing? Eh? My egg!_

That's about it. Although I remember thinking that he looked very much like Koneko-kun later when he had those nekomimi. I also remember thinking about how perverted they both are, but that is another story. See you later!

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I suppose taking a cat-nap in a hole wasn't the best idea, but I never thought a young girl would land on me! She was a cute one at that too. Well, I'm not one for talking much so I'll just get this over with. These were my first thoughts of Amu.

_Ow, who jumps in a hole on top of a sleeping guy? Eh, she probably fell. Wait is she Ichigo-chan? No her eyes are gold, and her hair is shorter, but she smells like an Ichigo. Wait, what else? New birth. She certainly blushes like Ichigo-chan. Oh, it hatched._

There you go! I hope you're happy. I didn't really understand why I kept thinking about Ichigo-chan so much at the time. I know now. You know what my thoughts were, so now I'm done talking, bye.

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**And that is a mini-chapter. There will NOT be one of these after every chapter but they will show up from time to time and will be in the format of them constantly talking to you. Think of it! The characters are talking to you! GASP OF LOVE! Review or I'll eat your soul-toast. BYE-BYE!**


	3. Just for shiro1momo9forever

**Hello and thank you for reading this. In response to a comment about why I haven't uploaded the next chapter yet I would like to say writers block. Also, I will be waiting three extra days after it's finished before I post it. And if anyone wants to tell me to work faster on this story I will delete it. This is something I do for fun at **_**MY**_** pace, my world doesn't revolve around fanfiction. I may be overreacting but I don't care that much. Flame all you want people but don't ever even hint as to why I haven't finished a chapter yet. Don't be selfish, saying when makes me work slower! Saying I can't wait is acceptable but there will be no 'When's' Okay? I am very easy to anger. Love you readers!**


	4. Kitty Ikuto on the brain

**Okay Amu only had green eyes as a child. Now she has gold. Anything different about them was only like that when they were a kid. Sorry if that wasn't clear. Also, this happens at a random time in the story so she's already met everyone and had **_**some **_**of her previous encounters with Ikuto. Okay then here I go!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara!**

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_Ikuto is such a pervert_, Amu thought as she walked to school. Last night Ikuto had shown up at her house via the balcony. I won't go into detail but there was quite a bit of teasing and blushing. Eventually Amu just walked back into her room and shut the door. She took another step and felt something in her jacket's pocket. Her thoughts still on Ikuto she reached in and pulled out a picture. That picture of her and the blue haired boy. Ran, Miki, and Suu noticed this and flew down to see it.

"Who're they?" Ran asked, pointing at the picture.

"That's Koneko-kun and I." Amu answered, still looking at the picture while walking.

"You have green eyes, desu!" Suu said in a confused tone.

"Yeah, my eyes were green when I was little, now they're gold. I guess they just changed." Amu replied.

Ran had the next question, "Who's Koneko-kun?"

Amu answered with a slightly sad smile, "He was my childhood friend. He moved away the day this picture was taken."

"He looks like Ikuto." Miki stated.

"Kind of, but his hair is lighter and Ikuto's is way messier." Amu said with a smile.

"Well he could have changed his hair style. Not to mention the eyes are the same." Miki pointed out.

"Y..yeah but his hair is way lighter!" Amu said. _There is no way it could be Ikuto right? I mean, no way, that is just too much of a coincidence._

"But didn't your eyes change color?" Miki asked inquisitively.

"I guess……" Amu trailed off, thinking.

"That seems way too big of a coincidence though." Ran said, Miki and Suu both nodded.

"Then why say anything in the first place." Amu mumbled under her breath. Her characters either didn't hear or didn't care. It was then that Amu, whose mind had switched from Ikuto to Koneko, was scared out of her wits by someone hopping down from a tree right in front of her. Her first impression was that of blue eyes and so with her mind on Koneko she immediately said, "Koneko-kun?" in a shocked voice, only to find it was Ikuto.

"What?" he quickly asked in an excited manner.

"Oh, nothing I was just confused is all." Amu said back.

"Oh." Ikuto said in an uncaring voice, _I could have sworn she called me Koneko-kun, _he thought. "So what do you have here?" Ikuto asked when he saw the picture in Amu's hands. He tried to snatch it from her but she avoided him.

"Nothing!" She quickly said back. He kept trying to snatch it, causing Amu to wave it around in the air. He was only able to see a small part of the picture when she stopped; her hand was covering the other part. She quickly turned it around and stuffed it into her pocket.

_That was me when I was little. What was the rest of the picture? All I saw was my face. Wait, why does she have a picture of me as a child at all?_ Ikuto wondered to himself as Amu quickly walked away. He let her go and jumped back into his tree to think.

"Why do you guys think I called Ikuto Koneko-kun?" Amu asked her characters.

"Probably because we were just talking about both of them." Miki answered in a bored tone. Amu just shrugged and walked into her school. For the rest of the day she couldn't take her mind off of Koneko.

"Ikuto, what're thinking about, nya?" Yoru asked his master, who was still in the tree.

"Nothing important." Ikuto replied as he jumped out of the tree. He sighed and kept walking. _I'm skipping school again today I guess. _He thought then he reached into his pocket, where he had been keeping the picture of him and Ichigo. _Why did she have a picture of me at this age? I suppose she could be Ichigo-chan but I doubt it. She doesn't act like her and their eyes are different. The hair is the same though. It really is hard to tell if she is from just a picture. People change so much over time. It doesn't really matter though. _He continued his thoughts as he walked along the street.

"Amu-chan are you alright?" A voice asked Amu. She was now in the royal garden and her thoughts had turned to Koneko-kun. She was trying to remember how he acted and was spacing out so bad she thought it was one of her Chara's that had asked.

"I'm fine, just thinking about Koneko-kun." She said, still heavily thinking.

"Who?" the same voice asked. This got her attention and she looked up to find the speaker was Nagehiko and the rest of the group was giving her odd stares.

"Oh, umm," she said with a nervous laugh, "He was my childhood friend. I have a picture of him." She took out the picture and showed it to the group. The majority of them took a quick look and then looked away.

"Onii-tan." Tadase mumbled under his breath.

"Huh?" Amu questioned the blonde.

"Oh, nothing." He said with a smile. _That couldn't have been Tsukiyomi Ikuto the hair was different. Just a little bit lighter and much shorter, _Tadase thought reassuring himself. The guardian meeting soon ended and everyone went home.

"You were really stuck on Koneko-kun today Amu-chan." Ran said floating next to Amu on the way home.

"Yeah, I know but he's a mysterious childhood friend that I barely remember. I can't help but think about him." Amu said with a slight blush she thought would go unnoticed. It didn't.

"Amu-chan why are you blushing?" Miki said with a sly smile.

"N..No reason." Amu said, looking away. Miki's grin widened.

"You liked him." She said matter-of-factly.

"I was just a little kid! Leave me alone." Amu yelled, drawing attention from the few other people on the street. She blushed and quickened her pace, refusing to talk to her characters again. She was still blushing when she got home.

"Amu-chan is everything all right? You look a little red." Her mother said as Amu walked by.

"I'm fine, Mama." Amu said with a roll of her eyes. She left but not before she heard her mother squeal 'Cool and Spicy' When she got to her room she flopped on her bed, hoping for some rest.

Miki flew up to her bed and said "You didn't deny it. You liked him!"

"No I didn't, I just thought he was cute! Leave me alone!" Amu yelled at Miki.

"You thought he was cute?" she asked with an even bigger grin.

"Yes." Amu replied in an exasperated tone.

"Weren't we just talking this morning about how much he looks like Ikuto?" Miki said then quickly floated off giggling.

"You're acting just like Ikuto!" Amu said after her, Miki just popped into her egg.

"Wow Amu, I heard my name twice. Who looks like me anyway?" said a voice from the balcony. Amu recognized that voice, it was Ikuto.

"What do you want now?" She asked with a sigh, she normally didn't see him this much.

"Oh, nothing I just came to check up on my little pink-haired girl." Ikuto said with his trademark smirk. Amu's eyes widened and she had a small flashback of a voice.

"'_Cause your pink hair reminds me of a strawberry. It looks good enough to eat, like strawberry ice cream! So you're Ichigo-chan!"_

"What did you just say?" Amu asked slowly, still thinking of the young boy's words.

"I just came to check up on you." Ikuto said, giving Amu a weird look.

Amu shook her head and turned to Ikuto, "Well I'm fine so **get out!**" she said as she pushed him out the balcony door and quickly locked it. She closed the curtains and plopped on her bed with a sigh. _He sounded so much like Koneko-kun, could he really be Ikuto?_ She wondered.

_What was that about, she looked so spaced out. Was it something I said? All I said was 'I just came to check up on my pink-haired girl.' What so weird about that?_ Ikuto thought to himself as he wandered around randomly. He couldn't figure out why Amu would seem so surprised at what he said.

Amu sighed again and got ready for bed, she slid under the covers and slowly drifted off to sleep…

"_Onii-chan!" Amu called out her front door, from the next yard over a slightly older boy came running._

"_I told you, call me Ikuto-kun. What is it Amu-chan?" He asked the girl._

"_Let's go inside and make forts!" Amu said happily. The boy complied and went into the girls house, they began making a monstrous fort in the living room. When they were finally finished the girl asked a very important question._

"_What should we call it?" she was in awe at the amazing thing they had created._

"_How about…. Club T.I.H.A.?" he suggested._

"_Why?" she questioned Ikuto with a confused look._

"_For our initials of course, Tsukiyomi Ikuto and Hinamori Amu." He said in an official tone._

"_But Onii-chan, I want to be first! It was my idea." She said in a whiney voice._

"_Don't whine, it's annoying. I'll change the name if you promise to call me Ikuto-kun." He said with a smirk._

"_But, I can't call you by your name! It sounds weird to me!" Amu said, whining again._

"_I said stop whining, and I'll only change it if you agree." He said, crawling into the fort._

"_Okay, I promise." She said with a small sigh. Even though she promised she kept letting Onii-chan slip out of her mouth. It got so bad that Ikuto threatened to change the name back to T.I.H.A._

"_I figured it out!" Amu suddenly announced. Ikuto gave her a confused look and she smiled and continued, "We need nick-names!"_

"_Why?" he questioned. Amu thought it was better just to say it would be fun, after all if he knew she thought it up so she didn't have to call him Ikuto he would never agree._

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**And there you have it! TADA! Finally out, although a little extra late because of SOMEONE making me angry. Sorry for the lateness and for the super suck-ness of this chapter, also my severe writers block isn't letting me update very often so bare with me here. I can almost guarantee the next one will be late. Sorry readers and remember that I love you! **

**P.S. and thanks to the people who umm, how do I put this? "supported" my anger at SOMEONE**. **Can't think of a better word ;)**


	5. Stray

**Ah so I'm finally updating. Just let me do a little rant first okay (rant mode activated!) Why WHY would someone tell me to start writing faster AND longer chapters?! I usually do about 5 pages, I'm SOOOOO sorry about wanting to update so you guys don't try to kill me! Why after I expressed a desire to destroy this fic if anyone said anything about it again?! Then they expect me to not be mad?! Every time I came to start writing this fic I could only think about that comment and my willingness was gone! I was only half serious before but I'm deadly serious, ONE more review and this story is gone. Forever. Okay then, on with the show!!**

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Amu woke to the beautiful, musical noise of her alarm beeping at its highest volume. Amu reluctantly opened her eyes and shut the thing off. She stood up, stretched and remembered something incredibly important. Today was a holiday; she didn't have to wake up. She tried lying back down but she couldn't get back to sleep now.

She quietly got dressed and tip-toed out of her room, there was no sense in waking her Chara's after all. She decided to go for a walk; she left a note for her parents to read if they woke up before she got back and headed out.

_I feel like I'm forgetting something,_ she thought as she walked. She wracked her brain until she remembered a little snippet from her dream.

"_But, I can't call you by your name! It sounds weird to me!" Amu said, whining again._

"_I said stop whining, and I'll only change it if you agree." He said, crawling into the fort._

"_Okay, I promise." She said with a small sigh. Even though she promised she kept letting Onii-chan slip out of her mouth._

She tried to remember more but that was it. Everything escaped her brain; she was too young back then to remember enough of it to figure out anything. Her feet carried her to the park and she sat on the very bench where she, just a few days ago, were going to eat ice cream. Through a twist of fate, or more accurately a sway of a tail, she ended up sharing the same cone with Ikuto. Amu sat down, remembering the events and she smiled a little. Overall, even, no especially with Ikuto it had been a fun day. _I wonder if he often hangs around here,_ she wondered.

Amu began looking up at the trees but stopped herself, no way, right? She gave in to the odd desire and looked up at the trees, sighing in relief when he wasn't there. She stood and walked along the path, smiling slightly while remembering Tadase and Ikuto's fight. Suddenly she noticed a movement, was that a black tail? No, she was imagining things; the sun wasn't even all the way up yet. Just a trick of the light. She walked passed the tree where she had seen the 'tail' and sighed in relief when nothing was there.

_**Crack! **_A thin branch hit Amu in the head and she heard a soft _**thump **_behind her. She whirled around and saw a cat. She almost burst out laughing upon seeing it. If she were to take a guess, she would say that cats didn't apparently always land on their feet. The poor creature had landed with legs splayed out and on his stomach. It didn't help when he sat back up and began licking his paw in an almost embarrassed manner with his ears halfway down.

"Hello little koneko." She said with a smile, the cat looked up at her and she gasped. His eyes were a deep blue, quite unusual. He meowed and her heart just about melted. He was short haired, he was obviously a stray, but one accustomed to humans. He looked almost black but she could tell that wasn't right, the lighting wasn't right.

_So cute! _She thought as she bent down and held her hand out. Her heart_ did _melt when he limped over, holding up his front left paw and giving a soft meow. She tried to pick him up but he yowled and writhed. She quickly put him back down and he licked at his chest. She looked and saw that he had landed on a something and it had hurt him.

"Poor koneko! I'm sorry for almost laughing. I guess you just didn't want to land on your hurt foot." She said aloud, no one was around anyway. This time she picked him up while avoiding his lightly bleeding chest and held him in her arms. She walked back home and somehow got the door open. Her mother was barely awake and reading the note she had left.

"Oh, Amu-chan you're already back. What's that?" She asked pointing at the cat in Amu's arms.

"This is just a stray I found. He's hurt, can I please, please, please keep him mama?" Amu begged.

"For now you can doctor him up but we'll have to talk to Papa. He's quite pretty." Her mother answered with a slight yawn. Amu ran up to her room, careful not to bounce around the cat. She put him down on her bed and almost gasped again. He wasn't exactly gray; he had a bluish look to him. The cat curled up and was already asleep; she couldn't wake him so she left him there and went downstairs. She searched 'blue cat' on the internet. She scrolled down until she read something that interested her. She clicked onto the site.

_There are many breeds of cat throughout the world. However none are as unique as the Russian Blue. This lovely cat has a silver-blue coat that can in very few cases be more blue than silver. The coat is very thick, enough so that patterns can be brushed into it and stay. The Russian blue breed is shorthaired._

_The cats typically have a broad medium wedge and a flat profile. Their large pointed ears are wide at the base and set far toward the side of the head. The body of the Russian Blue is fine-boned, long, and firmly muscled. The cats eyes are very round and a lovely emerald green color._

_Those attracted by the physical beauty of the Russian Blue find the disposition of these unassuming cats equally appealing. Russian Blues are quiet, clean cats who are playful and loving companions. Despite their shy nature, Russians are devoted and quite affectionate towards their loved ones. They are very intelligent and have been reported to open doors and teach their owners to fetch._

There was more but Amu had gotten what she needed. He fit the description almost perfectly, his muscles were a little bulky and his eyes were that odd deep blue color. He obviously wasn't a purebred but he had almost no silver in his coat. She got some bandages from the first aid kit and grabbed some wound disinfectant. She opened the door to her room and was surprised to see her characters hovering over the cat. Ran and Miki were floating slightly away from him and looking at him warily while Suu was scratching behind his ears. He was purring.

"Eh, Suu are you sure that's safe?" Miki asked nervously. Amu was wondering the same thing.

"Of course, he would never hurt me, desu!" Suu replied with a smile. Amu closed the door and walked over to the bed.

"Amu-chan why is there a cat in our room?" Ran asked with a nervous smile.

"First of all, this is _my_ room and second, poor little Koneko is hurt." Amu said indignantly. She looked up at Suu. "Suu, can you help me fix this cat?" Amu asked with a smile and Suu nodded.

"Hold the cat down so he doesn't bolt and put some disinfectant on. Then wrap the area so he doesn't lick it off or bleed everywhere." Suu instructed. Amu nodded and set to work. His paw pad had a crack in it and there was his chest. Suu had carefully inspected the area's to make sure nothing was broken and had given her the okay.

"Amu-chan!" She heard her mother call. She carefully picked up the cat, knowing her father was awake and she had to make her case.

"See Papa, he really was hurt! Isn't he pretty? Oh, look at his eyes!" That was her mother, marveling at the cat in full light.

"So, Papa can I keep him?" Amu asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not, but you'll have to take care of him, Amu-chan. Maybe he can protect my little sparrow." The last piece was muttered under his breath but Amu caught it. She decided to just smile happily and run off, just like a little girl. Keeping Papa happy means keeping her cat after all!

"Guys, what should I name him?" Amu asked as she walked into her room.

"Something fun!" Ran yelled.

"Something sweet." Suu said while twirling around.

"Ikuto." Miki said, looking up from her sketch, gathering weird looks from her sisters and Amu. "Look at him, the eyes, the fur, completely Ikuto." Miki justified.

"No, actually he seems more like, Koneko-kun. His fur is lighter than his eyes." Amu said slowly thinking it over. Although they tried many, many different names they won't back to the beginning and named him Koneko-kun. It took all day.

**Six Days Later:**

The first day Amu had Koneko everything went fine, he slept in her room, checked out the house and typical cat things. The second day he acted the same. The third he was restless the fourth he went outside a few times and since the last two days he'd been acting depressed.

"Koneko-kun what's wrong?" Amu asked the cat who was lying lazily by her feet out on the balcony. He just looked up at her and then let his head rest on the floor again.

"Maybe Koneko-kun wants to live outdoors again, desu." Suu said while looking sadly at the cat.

"I've thought about that too, but he can't leave until his wounds are healed." Amu said while looking up at the sky.

"Amu-chan, his wounds are already healed and you know it." Miki said slightly angrily. Amu sighed and nodded. She went back inside and got some scissors. She slowly snipped off his bandages. He looked up at her and…plopped his head right back down.

"Umm, Koneko-kun you can leave if you want." Amu said, the cat just sighed and stood up, going inside to hide under Amu's bed. Amu about to try and get him out was shocked by a voice in her ear.

"Boo." Amu jumped and bit back a scream. She whirled around to find Ikuto holding in laughter.

"What do you want?" She said, scowling at him.

"Aww, I can't visit you anymore?" he asked with a swish of his tail. Amu walked inside and sat on her bed.

"Visit? You just come to tease me." Amu stated while looking away. She was waiting for a smart comment but all she got was the sound of sniffing.

"Who else was here?" Ikuto demanded.

Amu gave him a weird look and said, "No one, weirdo."

"Then what's that smell? It's like another guy I don't know is here a lot. Doesn't smell as good. Doesn't smell like Amu." Ikuto said in a confused tone. Amu blushed and thought, _doesn't smell as good? He thinks I smell good? No it must be his cat instincts. Wait cat, it must be Koneko-kun!_

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Amu said, giggling the whole time.

"Amu, why are you giggling?" Ikuto asked and she broke out in laughter, "Amu why are you laughing?" he demanded.

"Under (laughing)….Bed! (laughing)" she managed to get out between laughs.

_Is she hiding a guy under her bed?_ Ikuto wondered as he lifted up the bed skirt. He saw something dart out of the other side then heard Amu's laughing die down. He stood up and looked at her. She was stroking a cat.

"Ikuto, take a minute to smell this cat." Amu said seriously.

"Amu, are you okay?" Ikuto asked giving her a worried look.

"Just do it." She said with a roll of her eyes. He did and realized the smell was the cat the entire time.

"Oh." For once it was Ikuto struggling with a blush. He however was able to keep it back. "So Amu, did I turn you into a cat person?" he said his 'teasing voice' Amu gave a little blush.

"No Ko… ummm he was hurt so I took him home and now he lives here." Amu said, forcing her blush to fade.

"Taking home more stray cat's Amu? I'm not enough." He teased she blushed and tried to speak but failed. "So what did you name that thing." He said with a bit of an angry inflection.

"Um, I call him a name." Ikuto gave her a weird look. _It's so childish I don't want to tell him his name! I guess I'll just tell him so he'll stop giving me that look. _"I…I named him…well… Koneko-kun." Amu mumbled out.

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**There you go read it and love it! Please no more hurry up comments! Love ya and please review!**


	6. Stray Ichigo

**And here we are again for another chapter of awesomeness! I Hope you guys like this chapter! Oh and thanks for all the reviews I got for the last one. I know it wasn't really worth the wait but you guys gave me great reviews anyway. Thanks!**

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"Koneko-kun? You are such a kid." Ikuto said with a sigh.

"I am not!" Amu yelled back at him. Then listened intently for any sign of her parents coming upstairs and heard nothing.

"Oh really, you named a cat Koneko. How is that not just like a little kid?" Ikuto questioned with a smirk.

"Well, I named him after……something special to me." Amu felt like telling Ikuto it was after her childhood friend made it seem even more kid-ish.

"Whatever Amu. So when are you getting rid of that thing?" Ikuto asked with contempt in his voice.

"Never! He's my little Koneko-kun! He was hurt and I nursed him back to health." Amu said, crossing her arms.

"You did huh? 'cause he seems pretty sick to me. Look at the way he just lays there and look at his eyes." Ikuto pointed out.

"He's a little depressed right now….." Amu said sadly stroking the cats' soft fur.

"Hmm, maybe because you're keeping him here?" Ikuto said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I tried letting him go already. I just took off his bandages and let him out on the balcony, he could easily get off of that." Amu pointed out.

"Maybe his paw is hurt and he can't jump." Ikuto said in defense.

"Nope his paw is fine, it was the first thing to heal." Amu said, although it was a lie, however his paw was defiantly fine now. _This is starting to sound like a little kid fight, _Amu thought.

"Really? Squeeze his paw a little then." Ikuto said, sounding very much like a kid.

"Fine." Amu said angrily and gave his previously hurt paw a squeeze. The cat didn't do anything. "See, he's fine." Amu said sounding like a child.

"Let me try then." Ikuto said with a sneer and went over to the cat.

"No." Amu said defensively.

"Then I don't believe you." Ikuto taunted

"Fine." Amu said, sticking her tongue out when Ikuto wasn't looking. Ikuto bent over the cat and squeezed his paw lightly, the cat didn't move. He couldn't help himself from pushing a little harder and a little harder, but it wasn't because he was jealous at all, he just couldn't help but want to be right. Suddenly the cat let out a yowl and tried to pull his foot away but at first Ikuto wouldn't let go.

"Ikuto let him go!" Amu yelled as loud as she dared. He let go.

"I was right." He stated.

"No you pressed way too hard!" Amu countered.

"No his paw was hurt!" Ikuto said.

"Was not!

"Was too!"

"No"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"I'm right! Shut up Onii-chan!" Amu said angrily, crossing her arms and looking away.

Ikuto was snapped out of his little kid mindset by this, "What did you just call me?"

"Umm, it was an accident, it's just when I was a kid…" Amu was cut off by a high pitched meow from the balcony. All of the occupants of the room looked up.

"Another one!" Miki exclaimed from her egg. A cat was out on the balcony, it walked into the room as if it owned the place and jumped up on the bed. Koneko-kun was suddenly back on the bed out of nowhere. He rubbed his head against this new cat and the surprised occupants of the room studied the it.

She, for it was a she, was a shorthaired orange striped and white cat. She had a large spot of orange on her back and her tail was the same, but with a white tip. Her neck, belly, chest and her feet were all white. Her head was orange with a white area around her mouth. From the bridge of her nose up to her forehead was a white stripe. Her nose was pink and her eyes were a vibrant green.

"I think I know why he was depressed now." Amu said with a sigh. "Ikuto wait here I'm going to ask my dad if I can keep her right now, If I don't she'll obviously come here anyway." Amu said. She tried picking up the cat and it let her, she opened the door and Koneko followed her out. Ikuto decided to go out on the roof in case Amu's parents decided to come up when Amu came back.

"Papa!" Amu called out, she heard her father make a noise from the living room. She walked in and both of her parents gawked at her.

"Amu-chan.." her mother started but Amu cut her off.

"I know what it looks like but she just walked into my room. I think she's with Koneko-kun. Look at him he isn't even depressed. Also watch this." Amu put the new cat down and the two rubbed against each other and then began cleaning the other, both while purring.

"I don't know if you can handle two cats Amu-chan." Her father said sternly. He wasn't really much of a cat person, they liked to eat the birds he photographed.

"Papa, she'll come around anyway! Do you really want her to starve and live in the cold while her boyfriend is inside fully fed and warm?" Amu asked, she was acting out of character but she really wanted to keep both of these cats!

"I don't know…" her father trailed off, took one look at his daughter's puppy dog eyes and gave in, "Fine." Amu gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran upstairs with both cats following her. She went in her room and shut her door after the cats came in, both jumped on the bed and began grooming each other.

"Ikuto, are you still around?" Amu called out, Ikuto jumped off of her roof, on to her balcony and walked in.

"Yeah." He said as he walked over.

"Look at these two aren't they just so cute together? Look at his dark blue eyes and her green ones! Reminds me of this picture I have of my childhood friend." Amu said looking at the two cats with stars in her eyes.

"So now you're keeping both of them I presume?" Ikuto asked, giving a small glare in the direction of the two, Amu nodded. "So, what do you mean by this picture?" Ikuto asked Amu, trying to get her attention back.

"Oh, I have this picture of my childhood friend and I, we're holding hands and he's smiling at me, he's got the same dark blue eyes as this cat." Amu explained, still looking at the cats, which annoyed Ikuto for some reason. Suddenly he remembered what happened right before the cat walked in.

"So Amu," Ikuto began but trailed off until she looked up at him.

"What Ikuto?" she asked, blushing a little when she realized that he had also been bending over the cats and their faces were only inches away.

"Why did you," Ikuto went on quietly, using his 'sexy voice' Amu blushed a little more and stared at him, he continued, "Call me Onii-chan?" he said in his plain voice.

"What?" Amu asked. Backing up and turning bright red.

Ikuto smirked and said "You heard me."

"W..well, our fight had us acting like little kids and I guess I forgot who you were, your eyes are just like ko… my childhood friends and I called him Onii-chan." Amu said.

"I had friend who used to call me that, but it always annoyed me." Ikuto said, remembering back. Amu looked up and into his eyes.

"Yeah, my friend was always annoyed by that too." She said slowly trying to remember. She saw it in her mind the young boy, her Koneko-kun.

"_Onii-chan, let's play!" _ A young her called out to a boy who was in his yard looking at music sheets.

"_I can't right now I have to practice Amu-chan. Also could you please call me Ik" _ Suddenly an oblivious Suu, who was playing with the new cat began speaking.

"Amu-chan what are we going to name her?" Suu called out and Amu was snapped out of her trance, Ikuto who was having similar thoughts, only to have them broken before hearing a certain name was also snapped out of his. Amu blushed and broke eye contact with him.

"I don't know Suu." Amu said leaning over the cat and inspecting her.

"Ginger..?" Amu suggested

"Clover?" Suu asked

"Heart!" Ran shouted

"Spade?" Miki quietly suggested.

"Amulet?" Amu.

"Cheer!" Ran.

"Maid?" Suu.

"Spade _Queen_?" Miki.

"Girly!" Ran.

"Paint?" Miki.

"Green, because of her eyes?" Suu

"Pink, because of her nose!" Ran

"Blue, because she's smart and blue is for intelligence?" Miki asked getting strange looks.

"Oh, then why don't we name her Orange because of her spots?" Amu said sarcastically, gaining nervous laughs from her characters. "What about….Sun?" Amu suggested

"Sunlight?" Miki.

"Flower?" Suu.

"Air!" Ran.

"I've got a name." Ikuto said, everyone looked at him. "Well, she has a pink nose and green eyes so what about Ichigo-chan?" Ikuto suggested, really he had two reasons. The one he said aloud and the other because the male was Koneko-kun so why not call the female Ichigo-chan, like his childhood friend?

"What?" Miki asked.

Ikuto looked at her slightly confused before repeating, "Ichigo-chan." All four of them stared at him.

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**NYAA! Oh the next chapter! I'll upload it in the morning sorry guys I'm tired and I don't want to re-read it twelve times right now and stuffs. Hope you guys liked, the beginning was anticlimactic wasn't it? You were expecting the big reveal weren't you? Hah, so I ended this chapter pretty much the same as the other didn't I? It wasn't on purpose, so can you guess what happens next chapter? see yanext time! Much love!  
**


	7. Mini chap 2: from the kitties

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**Alright a mini chapter! From a rather surprising viewpoint.**

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Well, I suppose we could have ended up with weirder children. Of course with certain peoples naming strategies it just made it worse.

_Dear our children are beautiful and their names are, okay at best. Don't listen to him people, he's just doesn't like any of our names._

Heh how would you like to be named kitten? Especially if you are a BOY.

_Really it isn't that bad Koneko…_

Don't listen to her, she has an okay name, Strawberry, it's cute and it fits her! Ichigo, you can't seriously think I like being named after some human who thought I was some guy after his girl?

_Ikuto was character changed then dear. He was confused, although I still wish I had been there to see it._

Ah it was great; you came right after it happened too. You know it really shocked me, I missed you so much but Amu had taken me so far away and she had taken me in and all, I didn't want to leave.

_You like her because she reminded you of me and I know it. We even smell alike._

Yeah, both of you are Ichigo's. Ahem anyway we are here to tell you readers about our children. Sorry for reminiscing on the distant past for a minute there. Couldn't help ourselves I suppose.

_Yes, well, two months ago I had my (hopefully) last litter of kittens. (Amu-chan is probably getting me fixed after this.) I'd been holding off Koneko for quite awhile but I did want to be a mother just once more. My children were just little puff-balls at first. oh they were so cute! Amu-chan has actually decided to keep one. She already kept one from a previous litter!_

Yeah, there are three boys and two girls, a litter of five. One of the girls looks just like me, but is stubborn and wild like her mother.

_And one of the boys looks a lot like me but acts just as lazy and cynical as his father._

Okay, okay, peace. So then the remaining two boys look as follows: One is a white and gray mix he has green eyes. Another is silver-blue with darker gray stripes over that. His paws and belly are white and his eyes are blue.

_The third and the cause of Koneko's first statement has equal patches of blue, gray and white. With an orange face and a few small patches of it here and there, she has one blue eye and one green. She and her orange brother both have pink noses._

So anyway Amu decided to name them all before giving them to her friends. She calls them temporary names. So she calls the little girl who looks like me Koneko-_chan._

_She calls the boy who looks like me Ichi-kun. She really isn't that original._

Be nice Honey. So the white and gray is called Patch and his silver-blue brother is Quicksilver. Actually she really isn't that original.

_And our oddball little daughter whom Amu is planning to keep. Is named, well really it isn't so bad dear._

This entire thing gets worse when you think about how Ikuto helped her with all the names but especially on the last one…

_Dear you're just making it more suspenseful for the readers so shut up. She calls her Koichio. As in Ichigo and Koneko combined, it's kind of cute._

If by cute you mean completely unoriginal and odd then yes it is cute.

_Be nice, we may be able to convince her otherwise._

She can't understand us! Plus Ko likes her name. She Likes It. Everything about that child is odd.

_Well, I suppose. Her older brother is pretty odd too._

You mean Icheko? The other one she kept? He licks the human's NOSE, Ichigo.

_Well he looks more normal…_

Yeah I suppose, he's got an orange body, but the area around his mouth is silver-blue and a few of his toes are.

_I love his half pink nose! And the white tip on his tail! But Koichio is quite beautiful herself, her markings may be odd but she has the body type of a Russian blue, more so than you. She's actually quite beautiful._

No she's not! It doesn't matter because she's a housecat anyway. And Amu is getting her fixed with you, I'm making sure of that. And….and…

_Oh shut up already, I'm going to help her find a Tom good enough for her and she'll be a mother at least once._

**Mom, Dad are you guys talking to the readers about me?**

No

_No_

**Like I believe you. Just leave the readers alone, alright? I doubt they want to hear you two bickering. Besides no one cares what you're talking about anyway. Right readers?**

_Okay you win this time. How about we go out and find you a nice Tom then?_

**Mom!**

Absolutely not! You are never leaving this house young lady!

**Dad!**

_Well I think we're done here. Nice talking to you readers!_

Yes, well bye then.

**Whatever my parents said, they're lying. Bye readers!**

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**So the next normal chapter will be up soon. Possibly very soon. Maybe even today, but I doubt it. Hope you liked this mini chapter!**

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	8. We were dense

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**Oi! I'm back with more ITK! Or at least that's how I abbreviate it when I'm saving chapters on my computer. Also I was busy the last few days and there was this computer crash thing or else this would have been up a couple days ago! sorry! I'm going camping today and won't be back until Monday so expect a super late chapter! So heh…yeah. Let's go on then.**

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Laughter filled the room.

"Such a girly name from someone like you!" Ran said through her laughing.

"You have no idea how perfect those two names are together do you?" Miki added

"That was unexpected, desu!" Suu called out, wiping her eyes and getting under control, the others followed suit before looking up at Amu who, they just realized, hadn't been laughing. She was just staring at Ikuto, making him incredibly uncomfortable. Amu was in her own world now.

"_Onee-chan!" _a younger her called.

"_Koneko-kun!" _her again at a different time.

"_I can't call you by your real name!"_ she heard herself complaining.

"_You have to!"_ a voice answered.

She now saw scene, that of a young boy playing his violin for the first time, and struggling with it. He became so frustrated; she saw her younger self looking hopefully at him.

"_You can do it Onii-chan!"_ she called out and he seemed to be doing worse now. _"You can do it… Ikuto!"_ she called out, he smiled at her and repositioned the violin. He tried once more and played the song right.

"_Call me Ikuto!"_

"_My name is Ikuto!"_

"_I'm not your Onii-chan!" _ She heard his voice call out. Then it was her speaking again.

" _Onii…I mean Koneko-kun!"_

"_Thank you Koneko-kun!"_

"_I hurt myself Koneko-kun!"_

"Hey Amu-chan it's funny he would say that right? Especially since those two love each other and he was your first love." Miki said, trying to get a response. She got nothing but a confused Ikuto staring at her. Suddenly out of nowhere Amu launched herself at Ikuto, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his chest.

"Amu, what are you…" he was cut off by Amu.

"Onii-chan!" she cried out squeezing him tighter.

"What?" he questioned, looking down at her pink hair, she pulled her face away from him and looked into his eyes.

"I missed you Koneko-kun!" she cried out again. It was amazing she had remembered everything about him when he was younger and remembered the day he left.

"Amu are you alright?" Ikuto asked her looking down at her.

"Yes I'm fine but don't you remember? You don't do you? Oh I'll get the picture, then I'm sure you'll remember!" She said quickly as she sorted through drawers and tried to find it. It took her ten minutes but she eventually did. She excitedly ran over to Ikuto and held the picture too close to his face. He slowly backed up until he could get a good look at the picture. He grabbed it from her hand and quickly pulled out the one in his pocket.

"This is…." He said slowly looking at the similarity of the pictures. The only difference between them was his had her blush and hers had his smirk.

"What do you have Koneko-kun?" Amu asked, trying to see what Ikuto pulled out of his pocket. He turned the pictures so she could see them both.

"You're Ichigo-chan aren't you?" he said slowly and Amu nodded happily. He pulled her into another hug and she hugged back. "To think…." He began slowly, "That I…." Amu was waiting for something, although she wasn't sure what, "Made you blush even back then." He said, Amu quickly pulled back and looked at him with anger in her face, Ikuto had his usual smirk.

"I can't believe you! You pervert!" She yelled as loud as she dared, Ikuto gave a small chuckle.

"But seriously," he said as he pulled her into a hug, "I really did miss you, Ichigo-chan." Amu blushed madly as Ikuto held her; he finally let her go after what seemed like an eternity. When she pulled away her face was still bright red. "Hm, you look a little red kid are you okay?" Ikuto asked with a slight smirk.

"Oh I'm fine Onii-chan." Amu said back giving him a devilish smile. If he was going to call her kid, she was going to call him Onii-chan.

"Don't call me that." Ikuto said, dropping his smirk.

"That's what I called you when we were kids." Amu said, crossing her arms and looking away.

"No you called me Koneko-kun." Ikuto pointed out.

"Fine then I'll call you that. Okay Koneko-kun?" Amu said mocking his voice slightly.

"Yep, fine with me. You made the rule that we can only call each other by our nick-names anyway, Ichigo-chan." Ikuto said with another smirk.

"Well…..fine then!" Amu said angrily. Ikuto laughed at her and she glared at him a moment. Her Chara's floating above her were still dumb-struck. Miki came out of it first.

"I knew he looked like Ikuto!" She said after shaking her head.

"Who would have thought, desu?" Suu said shrugging a little.

"Alright, good for you! Finally figuring it out!" Ran cheered at them.

"You guys are really dense. It took you this long to figure this out, nya." Yoru said, lazily floating around Ikuto's head.

"You didn't figure it out before us." Miki said, angrily.

"I'm an alley cat, something like this didn't interest me, nya." He replied wiggling his tail and ears.

"Oh, that reminds me! You have to meet Mama and Papa! Iku… I mean Koneko-kun go outside and wait near my front door!" Amu said, pushing him out and closing the glass door. She quickly walked downstairs and headed straight for the door.

"Where are you going Amu-chan?" her mother asked absentmindedly.

"I found someone and it'll surprise you who. Just wait here a second." She said as she walked out the door. Her parents looked at each other confusedly. Amu opened the door again and walked in the room with Ikuto right behind her.

"Who's this?" Her father asked with a slight growl to his voice.

"Papa, you can't tell this is…"

Amu was cut off when her mother yelled, "Koneko-san!" Amu's head dropped in defeat. It had taken them so long to figure it out and upon first sight her mother knew.

"Yo." Ikuto said with a little wave.

"Amu-chan I can't believe you found him again. Oh how nice is this? I have an entire album full of pictures from when you were kids!" Her mother ran over to Ikuto looking at him with a smile, "Oh, dear I believe I've forgotten your real name Koneko-san." She said apologetically.

"Eh, it's Tsukiyomi Ikuto, Midori-san." He said looking rather uncomfortable at the attention he was receiving.

"You remember my name! Now I feel even worse! Okay Tsukiyomi-san then. Oh I haven't seen you since you were just a little kid. Maybe a little older than Ami-chan!" her mother replied before grabbing his hand and leading him to the couch.

"Um thanks Midori-san." Ikuto said sitting on the couch. "Ichigo-chan why don't you sit down too?" Ikuto suggested giving her a tiny smirk that only she noticed.

"Oh yes Amu-chan sit down!" her mother called out and Amu sat down in the only seat available, right next to Ikuto. She blushed slightly as she did so. "So, how did you two find each other?" her mother asked excitedly.

"Oh we just ran into each other one day." Amu quickly replied, trying to say something before Ikuto could.

"Yeah, more like you ran into me." He said quietly.

"I did not run into you! You were sleeping at the bottom of a hole and I fell on you!" Amu yelled back

"Yeah, you fell on me, which hurt!" Ikuto said back crossly.

"You were sleeping at the bottom of a hole! Who does that?" Amu yelled, crossing her arms.

Ikuto was about to reply when Amu's mother gave a soft chuckle. Both of them looked at her. "You two were always like this when you were kids. Always fighting and arguing. And you were always making Amu-chan blush!" She said to answer their looks.

"He did not." Amu said, blushing and looking away.

"I'm doing it right now Ichigo-chan." Ikuto said with a smirk.

"So, Tsukiyomi-san, how long are you going to be here?" Amu's father asked with a devilish hint to his voice.

"Papa!" Amu complained.

"Actually, I should be going." He said nervously, quickly getting up, "Good bye Midori-san, Tsumugu-san and Ichigo-chan." He said adding a little extra to the 'Ichigo-chan' that only Amu caught. Amu quickly excused herself to go up to her room. When she got there her characters confirmed that Ikuto was really gone.

"I can't believe we were both so dense, but who would've thought that Ikuto was Koneko-kun." Amu said to her characters. Koneko-kun the cat jumped up on the bed with his girlfriend quickly following. "I guess we can call you Ichigo-chan." Amu said as she began petting both cats.

"You know I was the first one who though Ikuto might have been Koneko-kun." Miki said arrogantly.

"But you dismissed it as soon as Ran did, desu." Suu pointed out.

"Yeah!" Ran said angrily. Amu nodded.

I, uh, well, heh." Miki said before retreating into her egg.

"Not much talking now I see." Amu mumbled.

_I'm a little embarrassed at how I acted, I can't believe I hugged him like that as soon as I figured it out. But what was with his hug, the not so teasing one. When he said 'I really did miss you, Ichigo-chan' I had this feeling in my chest. What was that? It just seemed so……_ Amu gave a frustrated sigh out loud.

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**HOORAY! Another chapter! I shall proofread it twice and put it up. I expect it to be up in an hour or two because I'm taking a break so I can stop thinking about stories for a minute. This one was a little short but I'm sure you're just happy to have some story up. This Faery will proofread now…**

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